Sick leave for Volvo Car president Stefan Jacoby after he suffers a mild stroke

VOLVO Car Corporation president and CEO Stefan Jacoby has taken sick leave after suffering a mild stroke last week, the company said in a statement in Sweden at the weekend.

It was not immediately clear where Mr Jacoby, 54, was when he was struck down or where he is now, but he is under medical supervision and suffering loss of movement in his right arm and right leg.

The company’s chief financial officer Jan Gurander will step up as acting CEO in Mr Jacoby’s absence, which at this stage is expected to be a month.

Mr Jacoby was quoted in the official statement as saying he had already started the recovery process.

"I was lucky that it was a mild stroke," he said. "I am currently experiencing limited movement abilities in my right arm and, to some extent, also in my right leg.

“I have started to recuperate and already notice certain improvements. Now I will focus on resting and exercising, in order to get back to work as soon as possible.

“I am however in ongoing contact with the Volvo Car Corporation executive management team and the board of directors."German-born Mr Jacoby has been president of Volvo since August 2010 when he was head-hunted by new Volvo owner Geely from Volkswagen where he had spent most of his career, rising through the ranks to become president of Volkswagen Group of America.

His tenure at Volkswagen was interrupted by three years with Mitsubishi in 2001-2004, when he headed up the Japanese company’s European operations.

Mr Jacoby took over Volvo when morale was low after the sale of the Swedish company by Ford to Chinese car-maker Geely.

He replaced 13 top executives, creating a small team of fresh experts – many from outside Sweden – and revised Volvo’s business plan, using many of VW’s strategies.

Mr Jacoby would have been expected to front his company’s Paris motor show celebrations next week when two new variants of the new V40 small car are due to be launched.